Improvement in weft-stop mechanisms for looms



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weft Stop-Mechanisms fnrLooms.

No.'l47,070. `Patented Feb. 3,1874.

WITNE'SSES.

` take also of a rocking movement.

UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

y SOCRATES SOHOLFIELD, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

. IMPROVEMENT IN WEFT-STOP MECHANISMS FOR LOOMS.

l Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 147,070. dated February 3, 1874; application tiled y January 7, 1874.

y opposing weft-forks, placed upon the front of the lay near the center of the shuttle-race, and which, by means of suitable mechanism, are made to passupward into the shed of the warp, in order to feel for the weft at each beat of the lay. One of the above-mentioned forks is made to move up and down in a fixed position with regard to the race, and the other is so pivoted that when a corresponding up-anddown movement is imparted to it it will par- The tines of one of the forks are to be set opposite the 'spaces of the other, thus allowing them-to `pass and interlock whenever the weft-thread vis missing; and in this case the projecting catch-arm of the pivoted fork will strike the blever, which serves to throw the shipperhandle out of its retaining-notch, and thus stop the loom; but if the weft-thread is present, then the forward position of the hinged fork will be governed by the location of the fixed fork, and upon the downward movement of the former the projecting catch-arm will not strike the before-mentioned lever, and the loom will therefore continue in operation.

Figure 1 is a front view of a portion of a loom with my improved stop-motion attached thereto. Figs. 2 and 7 are sectional views. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken in the line y y. Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views taken in the line z z, to illustrate the relative position of the two forks at different points in the movement of the lay. Fig. 6 shows another method of combining the two forks.

Referring to the drawing, A is the registering or controlling weft-fork, rigidlyr attached to the slide- A', which has an up-and-down movement in the holding-guide B, attached to the lay T. The slide A is jointed to a lever, C, which is pivoted to the lay at the point D, and is operated by means of the fixed cam E, attached to the frameF. The outer end of the lever C is pressed down upon the cam by meansof a spring or otherwise. The feelingfork H, combined with a suitable friction-arm,

n, and catch-arm h, is pivoted to the slide I,

`as shown in Fig. l, in order to make suitable provision for. the forward-and-backward movement of the catch-arm h. The lever K is pivoted to the lay at the point D, and is also jointed tothe slide I. The opposite end of the lever K is held against the fixed cam L by means of a spring or otherwise. The outer/ ends of the levers G and K are supported by the side guide M, attached to the lay. lever N is pivoted to the lay at` the point O, and its outer end is supportedby the side guide P, which is also attached to the lay. Vhenever the outer end of the lever N is elevated it will, during the forward movement of the lay, strike against the spur Q, which is attached to the spring shipper-handle It, and thus throw the handle out of the retainingnotch S in the guide t, and cause the fork of the belt-shipperV to be changed from the fast to the loose pulley. The outer end of the lever N maybe held in its lower or normal position, as shown in Fig. l, by means of friction applied to the joint O, and, when it has been forced therefrom by the action of the catcharm h, it may be again brought back upon the succeeding backward movement of the lay by means of the pin S, attached to the slide I; or, if preferred, a gravitating lever may be used, so arranged as to drop back to its normal position when released for that purpose The operation of the machine will be as follows, viz: When the lay has moved forward to beat upon the weft, as shown in Fig. 5, the forks A and H will both have been drawn bclow the web by the actions of the fixed cams E and L upon the levers C and K. Then, as the lay moves back away from the web to about one-half of the full stroke, the shuttle may be picked; and when the lay arrives at the position shown in Fig. 4, which is about The tluee-quarters otl the full stroke, the action of cam E upon the lever C will cause the fork A to be raised into the shed, as shown, in order to catch the weft lV; and upon the continuance of the backward movement of the lay, the action of the cam L upon the lever K will also raise the slide I, thus immediately throwing back the fork H, by means of the resulting friction of the spring J against the arm n, and when the lay has reached its extremebackward position the fork Il will occupy the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the lower end of the catch-arm 7L will be brought back, as shown. rlhe weft, if it has been properly laid, will then be found between the two forks, and resting upon the spurs a of the fork A. New, as the lay starts to beat up the weft, the action of the cam L upon the lever K will cause the slide I to move downward, which will immediately, by means of the arm n and friction-spring J, cause the fork H to be thrown forward against the fork A. If the weft is then found in proper position, as shown in Fig. 7, the end of the catch-arm /L will not be thrown over far enough to let it engage with the lever N; but if the weft has been broken, or has floated upon the warp-threads, (see Fig. 2,) then the fork H, meeting' with no resistance at the face of the fork A, will pass forward to the position shown in Fig. 2, and upon the continued downward movement of the slide, caused by the forwardmovement of the lay, the end of the catch-arm h will engage with the lever N, causing its outer end to strike against the spur Q and stop the loom. rlhe forksAand H will inthe meantime be brought, by the action of the cams E and L, one after the other, back under the web.

The registering-fork A may, in some eases, be attached to the slide I, to which the feelin g-fork H is pivoted, as shown in Fig. G, and in this case both forks may be operated to rise and fall by the action of a single cam. Also, instead of the arm n` and spring J, a properly! constructed friction joint, arranged between the gear e and the coll-arf, may be used, the gear being caused to turn during the movement ofthe slide I by means of the fixed rack j. The feeling-fork lil may be actuated to close with the fork A by means of a spring or gravity, instead of the frictional means herein described, in which case it will only be necessary to draw back the fork 'H by forcible means upon the instant of imparting its upward movement into the shed, and allowing the spring.

or weight to act freely to bring the two forks together during the downward movement; and I consider that this mode of producing the required rocking movement of the feeling-fork is an equivalent for the frictional means herein more particularly described; and in case the position of the feeling-fork is reversed, so as to cause it to rise into the shed of the warp in front of the weft, then the friction produced by the warp-threads against the tines of the fork will be sufficient, as the lay moves back and forth, to produce the rocking movement desired.

I claim as my inventionM l. A weft-feeling device arranged centrally upon the lay, to operate within the shed, and which is composed of two forks, so combined that one of the forks will serve to register .or gage the position of the weft, while the other feels for the same, and combined with operating mechanism in such a manner that the forks will be made to drop from within. the shed and pass under the web at every forward beat of the lay. ,y

2. rlhe two forks combined with the lay, and made to rise and fall independently of each other, substantially as described.V

3. The vertically-reciprocating feeling-fork combined with the lay, and operated in timely relation to its up-and-down movement, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4r.. The spurs a, placed upon a fork, which is made to rise into the shed of the warp from below the web, for the purpose of supporting the weft under the action. of the opposing' fork.

SOCRATES SCHOLFIELD.

Witnesses:

Gno. H. SLADE, ALBA Ri. Anrotr'r. 

